HFF announces the $4.3 million sale-leaseback of a 110,000-square-foot industrial facility that is triple net leased to Keywell Metals in the suburban Charlotte community of Matthews, North Carolina.

The HFF team represented the seller, Prophet Equity, a Southlake, Texas-based private equity firm that acquired Keywell Metals in 2014. AIC Ventures purchased the asset.

The facility is the mission-critical processing facility and headquarters for Keywell Metals, a metalworks company that is a leading supplier of recycled titanium, high-temperature alloys and stainless steel. Situated on 7.45 acres at 1035 Commercial Drive, the facility is in Matthews, one of Charlotte's most densely populated and well-established residential suburbs. The property is adjacent to a CSX rail line and has immediate access to Interstate 485, a major loop encircling Charlotte, and U.S. Route 74, a main artery connecting Ashville, Charlotte and Wilmington. Additionally, it is 22 miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport and 7.2 miles from Charlotte-Monroe Executive Airport.

The HFF investment advisory team representing the seller was led by directors Tracey Goo and Maxx Carney, associate Mike Massardo and real estate analyst Kenny Cutler, along with senior managing director Christopher Norvell.

“The Matthews facility is a very strategic location for Keywell, and it is critical for their business operations that they remain at the property in a long-term lease with renewal options,” Goo said. “We anticipate we will continue to see more and more sale-leaseback transactions nationally, as corporate owner/users of well-located facilities seek to take advantage of investors’ strong appetite for industrial product.”

“The Matthews facility is a key part of the Keywell strategy for growth and delivery of value to our customers,” said David Rex, managing director and general counsel for Prophet Equity. “With HFF’s deep expertise and business-focused guidance, Keywell was able to successfully execute a very complicated sale-leaseback transaction on market-based terms. We couldn’t be more pleased.”

Holliday GP Corp. (“HFF”) is a North Carolina licensed real estate broker.

About Prophet Equity
Prophet Equity is a private equity firm that uses proven, data-driven analytical techniques coupled with over 100 years of investment and management experience to invest in, unlock and realize future value today. Partnering with owners and management teams, Prophet Equity’s team utilizes a toolkit that is Fortune 500 tested and private equity proven to diagnose and drive dramatic value creation. Portfolio company management teams are highly motivated with clear, uncapped incentives based on realized business performance.

Over the last 19 years, Prophet Equity’s principals have invested in and managed over $2.5 billion of value creation across entities with over $6 billion in revenue. The company’s control equity investments focus on strategically strong, lower and middle market businesses with significant value creation potential. These are typically found in partnerships, corporate carve-outs, divestitures and non-strategic business units of larger companies. Representative business situations include special situations, succession planning, recapitalizations, reorganizations, turnarounds, acquisitions, mergers and bankruptcies. For more information, please visit prophetequity.com.

About AIC Ventures
AIC Ventures is a private investment fund manager with a 29-year history of providing alternative capital solutions to middle-market companies throughout the United States. AIC Ventures acquires industrial or office real estate governed by an existing lease or requiring the origination of a new lease and also provides build-to-suit capital for industrial or office property expansion. The firm’s partners and professionals are focused on integrity, creativity and ensuring that its real estate finance solutions meet middle-market companies’ objectives. Visit aicventures.com for further information.

About HFF
HFF and its affiliates operate out of 26 offices and are a leading provider of commercial real estate and capital markets services to the global commercial real estate industry. HFF, together with its affiliates, offers clients a fully integrated capital markets platform including debt placement, investment advisory, equity placement, funds marketing, M&A and corporate advisory, loan sales and loan servicing. HFF, HFF Real Estate Limited, HFF Securities L.P. and HFF Securities Limited are owned by HFF, Inc. (NYSE: HF). For more information, please visit hfflp.com or follow HFF on Twitter @HFF.